Imagine walking more than an hour over rough terrain simply to receive a basic education. Most American college students struggle to even wake up for class, yet the schoolchildren in Tanzania willingly rise before dawn without the promise of a degree, just the hope for a successful future.

Inspired by their visit to the Meali Primary School in 2007, a group of friends decided to help make these children's dreams more attainable. With just a few donations, the school was able to provide enough books and desks for each student to share with only one other person. Realizing that they would need more support to transform the school, the friends created Friends of Meali International.

Today, the program has contributed to the improvement of classrooms and even undertaken projects involving water collection and solar power. Lucas Mhina, director of the program's Tanzania branch, realizes the importance of education. In addition to working as a celebrated tour guide for Road Scholar through Holbrook Travel, Mhina collaborates with Friends of Meali President Nancy Scull to execute projects in his home country. "For me, it's 'pay-back time' for all the support I received for my own education," he said of his involvement in the program. "Nancy's fundraising for Friends of Meali has allowed me as a native Tanzanian to really help some of my people. We have a wonderful partnership!"

Mhina also learned from the training and empowerment of Frank Richmond, a beloved member of Holbrook for 24 years who recently passed away.  The family requests donations for Friends of Meali in lieu of flowers. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please visit the Friends of Meali donation page. Every penny donated directly benefits the school.